Cargo-handling apparatus.



T. M. coaNooKs.

CARGO HANDLING APPARATUSr APPLICATloN FILED Nov.1. 19H. RENEwEu MN. 25,1917.

1,235,768, PatentedAug. 7,1917.

6 SHEETS-SHEET l.

T. M. coRNBRooKs. CARGO HANDLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. l iQll. RENEWED IAN. y25, 1917.

1,235,768. Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

` e'sHEETs-SHEET 2l v Wmo vw?, wcoz Mm @MMM LM. CORNBROOKS.

CARGO HANDLING APPARATUS. APPLICATION man Nov. 1I 1911. RENEwED JAN. 25. 1911.

PatentedAug. 7, 1917'.

s SHEETS-SHEET 3.

T. M. CORNBROOKS. CARGO HANDLING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NDV. I. I9II RENEWED IAN. 25.1917.

ffya T. IVI. CORN-BROOKS. cAlGo -HANDUNG APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. I |9II- RENEWED IAN. 25| |917.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

T. M. CORNBROOKS.

CARGO HANDLING PPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. l. 1911. RENEwED JAN. 25.1911.

1,235,768. Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

sTA'rgns PATENT o. estos..

THOMAS M. CORNBBOOKS, or sPARnows POINT, MARYLAND, AssreNoR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, Toy BETHLEHEM STEEL COMPANY, orsOUTPr BETHLEHEM, PENN- sYLvANIA,` A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA,

CARGO-HANDLING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented'Aug. '7, 1917.

Application filed November 1, 1911, Serial No. 657,944. Renevzeuianuary 25, 1917. Serial No, 144,530.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS. M. CORN- BRooKs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sparrows Point, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain,z new and usefulV Improvements in Cargo-Handling Apparatus, of which the following is a; specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to ships cargo loading and unloading apparatus, the object of the invention being to enable the cargol to be handled. with great speed and facility from either or both sides of the ship, and at a number of points in the length of the same; and `carried in either direction athwartships, as well as in either direction fore and aft.

In carrying out my invention in its preferredv form with these objects in view, there are erected on the deck of the vessel at intervals in the length of the same, a number of towers or frame-works. rlhese towers give support to booms connected thereto at opposite sides, and the booms inv turn give support to cargo-handling elements inthe form of lifting buckets adapted to raise and lower von the booms. The opposite booms are connected by cables on which the lifting buckets may be moved athwartships so as to convey the cargo either from the holds of the ship outwardly, as in unloading; or from the outside of the vessel inwardly to the holds, as in loading; or the cargo may be conveyed by the buckets clear across the vessel from one side to the other. The towers are connected together at their upper ends by fore and aft extending rails or 40 beams constituting ya track or way on which is adapted to travel a` cargo-handling element in the form of a lifting bucket, by vmeans of which the cargo may be transferred from one hold of the vessel to an- 45 other hold, or to the ships bunkers, or to the after structure.,

In the accomp anyiigdrawings I have illustratedthe foregoing features embodied in the specific form and arrangement which I prefer to adopt, and in connection` therewith I have. shown hoisting drums and motors, adaptedA to actuate the several cargo-handlingf elements or buckets. ,Itv is manifest, however, that the different' parts of the mechanism may be variously modified and changed by the skilled-mechanic without de.- parting from the spirit of my invention;

andv it will-be understood that theinvention.

is not limitedy to any particular form or constructiony of the parts, except in so far as such limitations are specifiedin the claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, in the nature of a diagram, ofthe rear portion, of a ship having my invention embodied therein.

Fig. 2 is aside view of` the front portion of the same. i

Fig. 3 is a top plan view, in thenature of a diagram,of the parts shown` in Fig. 1.

Fig.v 4L is a similar view of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is anl end elevation of one of, the towers and, its connected booms, showing the cables connecting the opposite booms, and showing also the forey and aft traveling bucket, and the motors and hoisting drums for operating the parts.

Fig. Gis a side elevation showing the after tower, a portion of the fore and aft track, and the fore tower.,

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the after tower, one boom, and a portion of the fore andaft track.

Fig/8 is a rear elevation of the upper. portion of the after tower,shown in Fig. 6.

kFig. 9 is a transverse sectional, elevation on'the line a--a of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is ay side elevation on an enlarged scale, of the outerend of one of, the booms.

Referring to the drawin s:

As shown more particu arly in. Figs. 1l to 4', a number of towers 1,12 l", etc.,l are erected on the deck of the ship 2, at intervals in the length of the same, between hatchways 3, 3a, etc. The after tower 1 is supported on the rear deck 2t adjacent hatches 11, il, leading to the ships bunkers, while the other towers are supported on the forward deck 2b, adjacent the hatches 3, 3a, etc., leading to the usual storage holds.

As shown in Figs. 5, 8 and 9, the towers are of skeleton frame-work, comprising oppositely disposed pairs of upright girders a, cr and ZJ, connected together by braces extending between the girders of a pair, and transversely between the girders of the opposing pairs, so as to constitute a rigid structure of general A-form. Arranged within each iii-frame is an arched frame consisting of opposing pairs of side bars 5, 5a, fastened at their lower ends to the girders a and ZJ respectively and extending upwardly toward each other where their upper ends extend vertically parallel with each other some distance apart, as at 6, 6a, and are connected fixedly at their upper extremities to the central portions of two horizontally arranged bars 7, 7. The bars 7, 7, extend outwardly in opposite directions and are fastened firmly to the upper ends of the girders a and Z), the outer ends of the bars extending beyond the girders and being connected thereto by diagonal braces 8, 8, so that they form in e'ect, brackets or projections extending from each side of the A- frames atY the upper ends, the purpose of which brackets will presently appear'.

F astened respectively to the vertical portions 6, 6, of the arched frames of the several towers, are two upright, fore and aft extending rails or plates 9, 9, which extend parallel to each other side by side with a space between them and serve to connect the upper ends of the several towers together. The rails are connected together between the towers, by means of inverted U-shaped frames or stirrups 10, 10a, spanning the space between the rails, with their opposite limbs xed firmly thereto, as shown in Figs, 6, S and 9, these U-shaped frames serving to maintain the parallelism and spaced relations of the rails. At their lower edges the two fore and aft rails sustain tracks 11, 11, which extend continuously from the after tower to the fore tower, and give support to a traveling trolley 12. The trolley is provided with pairs of upright sheaves 12a and 12b, over which pass cables 12c and 12d, and

i give support to a lifting bucket 13 preferably of the clam shell type. The cables are fastened at one end to the fore tower, as at 14C, and extending over the trolley sheaves and the usual sheaves on the lifting bucket,

' they pass to the after tower and over idler pulleys 15, 15 thereon, and finally lead downwardly within the tower and arc connected with operating drums, 16, 17, at the base of the tower. By means of this mechanism the lifting buckets may be raised and lowered and opened and closed in the usual and customary manner. The trolley 12 supporting the bucket 13 is moved back and forth on the fore and aft track, by means of a cable 17a, one end of which is connected, as at 17, to the forward end of the trolley, whence the cable passes upwardly over idler pulleys 18 and 19 supported on the fore tower, and then rearwardly to the after tower, at which point the cable passes downwardlv over idler pulley 20 mounted on the after tower, and after being wound around an operating drum 21 at the base of the tower, the cable passes upwardly to the top of the tower over an idler pulley 22 mounted on the tower, and iinally forwardly, and has its end connected with the rear end of the trolley, as at 171.

By means of the foreand aft traveling lifting bucket described, and the mechanism forsupporting and operating the same, it will be seen that the cargo may be carried in a fore and aft direction and transferred from one hold to another; or it may bc conveyed toward the stern to the ships bunkers, or to the after structure from which it may be transferred to another vessel by other means.

As shown in Figs. 1 to a, each of the towers except the fore and after towers, gives support at its base to two booms 25, 25, on each side, the. said booms being so connected with the towers in any of the well known and customary ways of supporting booms that they may swing horizontally and vertically in the usual manner. In the present instance this connection of the boom is eifected by pivoting the lower end of the same on a horizontal axis, as at X, to a head Y which is mounted to turn on a vertical axis in a supporting block Z at the base of the tower as shown in Figs. (i and 7. At the upper ends they are sustained from the towers by supporting cables 26, connected at their outer ends with heads or castings 25@L on the outer ends of the respective booms, and connected at their inner ends with the. projecting ends of the bars 7, before alluded to, 4at the upper ends of the towers.

r1`he outer ends of the opposite booms of each set are connected together by two parallel guide ropes or cables 27, 27, extending transversely across the deck of the vessel, as shown moreparticularly in Figs. 1 to 5 and 7, saidcables being connected at one end to the heads or castings 25a of one boom and passing around a sheave 27a on the opposite boom, these pairs of cables each constituting a track or way on which travels a trolley 28. rlhe trolley 28 'is provided with sheaves'28a, 281 and= 26over which pass cables 29, 29a suspending and operating a` grab bucket 30, the said cables extending 1nwardly to the tower and over horizontal guide sheaves 81, 31, mounted on-the=tower, and around upright` guide sheaves 32, 32, also mounted on the tower, whence-the cables pass downwardly to the base of the tower and are connected1 respectively with operating drums 16, 17, by the operation of which drums the buckets may be raised and lowered and opened and closed in the usual manner.

The sheaves 31, 31 are mounted in blocks 31a suspended from an eye 31h, to enable the blocks to be swung from one side to another, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8, when the trolley is moved from one side of the vessel to the other. The sheaves 32, 32 are likewise mounted in blocks suspended from eyes on the several towers, so that the sheaves may be swung to one side. and stowed, as shown in Fig. 9, in which position they will offer no obstruction to the passage of the fore and aft trolley when the latter is in operation.

The trolley 28 is moved athwartships on its guide ropes, by means of an operating cable 34, one end of which is connected with the end of the trolley, as at 35, from which point the cable passes upwardly around a vertical guide sheave 36, mounted in the head or casting 25a on the boom, and around a horizontal guide sheave 37 near the end of the boom, whence the cable passes downwardly and inwardly to the base ofthe tower, where it passes around an operating drum 38. From the drum the cable extends upwardly and outwardly to the outer end of the opposite boom, where it passes over a horizontal sheave 37a and downwardly around a vertical sheave 36a, similar to the two sheaves 36 and 37 on the other boom, and finally the cable passes inwardly transversely and has its end connected with the trolley 2S, as at 35a.

From the construction described, it is seen that the buckets 30 may be raised and lowered at the outer ends of the extended booms, by the cables 29 and 29a, and may be caused to move transversely to and from the hatches, or entirely across the vessel from the end of one boom to the end of the other boom, by means of cable 34. By this mechanism the cargo may be taken from the dock, or Jfrom the hold of another vessel and conveyed inwardly and delivered into the holds of the ship. Or the operation may be reversed and the cargo elevated from the holds of the ship and carried outwardly and discharged on to the deck or into the hold of another vessel alongside. Or the cargo may be taken from one vessel at one side of the ship and conveyed transversely across the ship and delivered to another vessel on the opposite of the ship.

rllhev booms may be raised and lowered to cliange'itheirinclination to' causetheml to project more or" lessfrom the side" ofl the ship, by hoisting cables 110,4:033` connectedat theirfinnerfends withI drums, whence they pass upwardly around sheaves-41, 41 on the upper ends of the towers on opposite sides, and then downwardly around sheaves 42, 42a on the'respective booms, and finally back again to the upper sheaves, where the ends of the cables are secured. The motors and drums at the base of the towers for raising and lowering the several buckets 30 and for operating their trolleys, may be the same for the several towers, except the after tower, where the additional drum is provided for operating the fore and after trolley, this drum being shown as operated from the drum controlling the athwarthships traveling trolley. The same drum at the after tower, employed for raising and lowering the athwartships moving bucket, may be employed for raising and lowering the fore and aft bucket.

By means of the apparatus described, the cargo to be loaded into the ship' or unloaded from the same, may be handled at a number of points in the length of the ship. As a result of the provision or" the towers between the hatches, and the connection of the booms to their opposite sides, the space abo-ve the hatches is left free and unobstructed, so that there will be no interference with the operation of other forms of loadingv devices, such as coal chutes and the like. Not only may the cargo be handled in a general transverse directionbut it may be co-nveyed also in a fore and aft direction, which is advantageous in that the cargo may be transferred from one hold to another and may be carried clear back to the after structure from which it can then be transferred to another vessel if desired, by other means. Also by the fore and aft trolley, the shipss bunkers may be supplied with coal from the forward holds when the cargo carried is composed of coal. The construction and apparatus as a whole therefore, possesses advantages in construction and operation which enable a maximum amount of cargo to be handled with celerity and in the shortest time. p

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In a cargo-transport vessel, the combination with a hull provided at intervals in its length with holds, of a plurality of towers rising from the hull at intervals in its length and formed toleave a continuous unobstructed passage fore and aft over the holds, a track sustained by said towers and extending fore and aft continuously over the holds, a cargo-handling device movable on said track throughout the length of the same from tbe base of the towers end swingable In testimony whereof I affix my signature horizontally and vertically, ways connectin presence of two witnesses.

ing Opposite booms and extending transversely between the towers below the fore THOMAS M' CORNBROOKS' 5 and aft track, and cargo-handling devices Witnesses:

movable athwartships along' said transverse GEO. H. JOHNSTON, ways. JAMES A. EvEs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

